UK finance minister Healey seeks growth through decentralising power

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Britain’s finance minister, John Healey, will use his first major speech since taking office seven weeks ago to set out how Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s plan to devolve power away from central government can help revive growth across the country.

In a speech at a manufacturing site on Monday, Healey is expected to announce plans to give city regions greater powers to develop local industrial strategies and attract private investment, as part of a push to bring growth to “every postcode”.

“I want to see wealth creation in this country. I want to see businesses make a profit. And to create the conditions for that we need an active, accountable state at all levels to remove blockages and create the conditions for more investment,” Healey is expected to say, according to a release from his office.

He will also use the speech to stress his commitment to “fiscal discipline” as he pursues faster growth in Britain’s sluggish economy.

The challenges have been mounting for Healey ahead of his debut budget on October 28, as investors worry about the inflationary impact of rising oil prices from the Iran war, shrinking budget headroom, and rising spending commitments.

Healey will announce that £150 million ($203 million) of funding already allocated from the British Business Bank will be earmarked for innovative firms in the north of England, pumping in between £5 million and £15 million designed to attract additional private capital.

Healey and Burnham have already pledged to stick to the fiscal rules adopted by the previous government, including a target of balancing day-to-day spending with tax revenues by the end of the decade.

But given Burnham’s plans for expanded social care and more defence spending, Healey is already under pressure to raise billions of pounds in tax at the budget.

($1 = 0.7396 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah YoungEditing by Ros Russell)

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